Only a Memory
by The Sorrows of Arlathan
Summary: After the defeat of the Reapers, Liara and the Normandy crew try to come to terms with losing Shepard, while rebuilding the Normandy after their crash on an uncharted world, remembering all the times they spent with the Commander (Jumps back and forth from events after mass effect 3 to moments between FemShep and Liara in the years leading up to the war with the Reapers) FEMSLASH
1. Chapter 1

**_Ok, I'm finally going to have a proper attempt at a Mass Effect romance story. After completing the trilogy with all the dlc's while pursuing a FemShep relationship with Liara, my heart broke at the end (not ashamed to admit it :P) I have to say the Citadel DLC was possibly the best one I have ever played. Could possibly be included in this story a bit down the line but here goes. Hope you all enjoy and let me know what you think! :) TSOA_**

* * *

Liara held the plaque with Commander Shepard's name on it in her shaking hand, staring down at it in sorrow. She ran her fingers across the lettering: Commander Hayley Shepard. Strange, the Asari had never once called her by her first name. None of them had. And now they would never get the chance to. The Normandy Crew, those that had survived the Reaper war and the crash landing on a strange planet, had all gathered and were waiting for her to place Shepard's name on the memorial wall in the Normandy's hallway along with all the others who had lost their lives. Liara felt her heart ache as she thought of her bond mate. The last time she had seen her, Shepard was running towards a beam to the citadel, with a Reaper Destroyer killing anything that approached. Shepard had rescued her after she was injured in the fight on Earth, and called in the Normandy to take her and James to safety, continuing the fight without them. Liara could still feel the Commander's gentle hand on her face as caressed her cheek, saying her final goodbye.

"You are everything to me," Shepard said gently, staring desperately into the Asari's eyes as the world went to ruin around them, "You always will be."

Her hand fell then and she turned and ran back towards the raging battle, ignoring Liara's heart-wrenching calls after her. It killed Liara to watch her go. She knew she wouldn't be coming back from this fight, and so did Shepard. But nothing, not even the love she held for Liara would get in the way of her duty to the Galaxy. She was loyal to the end, to her purpose, and Liara, as much as it hurt to know she would never see her love again, as much as she wanted to be by Shepard's side once more, wouldn't have had it any other way. For that was who the Commander was. She always put her duty to others before herself. That's what made her such a great soldier and a treasured friend.

"Liara...?"

Tali's voice interrupted Liara's thoughts. Everyone was watching her, seeing her hesitation. She swallowed hard, fighting back her tears and reached out slowly, reluctantly placing the Commander's name in the middle of the memorial wall above Admiral Anderson's. As the magnet latched, the Asari's shaking hand dropped limply to her side and her head dropped. Her life spanned out for the next 900 years or so. Where was she going to get the strength to continue without the woman she loved? A gentle hand placed itself on her shoulder then.

"Are you alright, Li Li?" James asked in his deep voice. Liara took a shaky breath, unable to respond. She simply turned and allowed the soldier's giant arms to wrap around her, burying her face in his broad chest as she tried not to fall apart in front of them all. "Don't worry, I got you, chica," he soothed, holding her tight.

The rest of what remained of Commander Shepard's crew stood still, knowing nothing they could say would make anything better. Each of them missed Shepard in their own way, each of them had fond memories of her, but the bond between Liara and the Commander went deeper than any of theirs. There was no comfort for her. Joker had lost EDI's body, but at least the AI had still survived in the ship. Liara had nothing of Shepard left. It was so hard to believe that after everything they had been though together, the woman had finally fallen. For good this time. There was no Cerberus to bring her back now.

After several minutes of silence, Liara pulled back from James' embrace and steadied herself. It felt strange to be comforted by someone else other than Shepard. The war had only ended a few days ago, but it already seemed like a lifetime had passed since she was back in Shepard's cabin on the Normandy, spending one last night of intimacy with her before they attacked the Cerberus base. That night was the best night of her long existence. Only one hundred and nine years old and she had already met the person she wanted to enter matron-hood with. All those little blue children would be disappointed now.

Unable to look at the memorial wall once more, to see her love's name amongst the dead, Liara walked back towards her cabin, without a word, feeling the eyes of her friends on her as she did so. Although she was surrounded by people, she had never felt so alone. As soon as the door whooshed closed behind her, she barely made it to her bed before she collapsed in grief, tears streaming down her blue face before she could stop them.

"Is there anything I can help you with, Dr T'Soni?"

Glyph appeared out of nowhere and hovered beside her, glowing silver light.

"Can you bring Shepard back?" Liara responded hoarsely.

"Negative, Shadow Broker. Commander Shepard's whereabouts are currently unknown."

Liara sighed. "I just want to be alone, Glyph."

With that, the drone disappeared, sending the room into semi-darkness once more. The screens of the numerous monitors nearby were still active, flashing continuously. What was let of her contacts were waiting on instructions from the Shadow Broker. The Reapers were defeated, but the mass effect relays had been destroyed. Having information points all over the Galaxy would be more important now than ever, but Liara couldn't face it all just yet. Without Shepard, everything that once mattered no longer did. Unable to take it anymore, the Asari closed her eyes, willing herself to fall asleep, to escape her grief just for a few seconds...

* * *

"Did you come to check up on me?"

Liara heard the door to the med bay open and turned in her chair to find Commander Shepard standing behind her. She quickly hid her tears, not wanting to appear weak in front of the fearless Commander. Shepard stared down at her sympathetically.

"I just wanted to see if you were alright," she said, more softly than the Asari had ever heard her speak before, "Seeing your mother being killed in front of your eyes like that couldn't have been easy."

Liara sighed and got to her feet. "I'm alright," she said, trying to be strong, "She brought it upon herself. What ever Benezia was in the end though, I'll always remember her how she used to be."

Shepard wasn't fooled. "Don't pretend this doesn't bother you," she said, reaching out a hand and touching the Asari's arm gently. Liara looked up, seeing the regret in Shepard's expression. "I'm sorry I had to do that to you...If there was any other way..."

"There wasn't," Liara replied grimly, "It had to be done. My mother was long gone...Saren saw to that."

Liara saw her own pain reflect in Shepard's green eyes. The Commander let her hand fall and backed away a few paces, staring at the ground. "Do you blame me?" she asked sadly.

"No!" Liara blurted out, reaching out towards her as the woman made to distance herself. It felt oddly nice being comforted by her, "Of course not, Shepard! How could I?"

The Commander looked back into her eyes then, seeing that she was telling the truth. They stared at each other for a moment. Liara then realised that Shepard had pain of her own on her mind. She wasn't just sympathising with her.

"Are..._you _alright, Commander?" she asked curiously. Shepard's gaze fell once more. She sighed and walked away towards the nearby desk, browsing through Liara's latest research data on Prothean technology absentmindedly. The Asari had never seen her look so...vulnerable before. "Shepard?"

It was several seconds before Shepard spoke.

"Did I ever tell you where I grew up?" she asked, her voice hoarse. Liara cringed.

"No but...I...looked into your history," she said apologetically.

Shepard shook her head.

"You didn't have to do that," she replied, wishing people would stop looking up her exploits behind her back, "I would have told you whatever you wanted to know."

"I apologise, Commander," Liara said, feeling stupid. She was never good at speaking to people, least of all humans. It was so much easier for her to search for data on the extranet and sift through Alliance resources rather than extract it personally from the slightly intimidating Commander. It was the archaeologist in her coming to the surface. "I was curious..."

"So I can assume you know about what happened on Mindoir?" Shepard asked. Liara realised what she was getting at then. She moved closer to the Commander, who still had her back to her.

"You lost your parents in a slaver attack," Liara stated, remember reading about it in the reports. "You were the only survivor of the entire colony, rescued by Alliance troops."

Shepard closed her eyes, the events of that day still vivid in her mind. She turned back to Liara then, a tortured look in her eye. "When I saw my parents being massacred that day I wanted every one of those Batarian bastard's heads on a spit...I guess...I guess I was just afraid that you would think the same about me for killing your mother."

Liara moved closer then and (after a little hesitation) placed her hand over Shepard's, which rested on the desk. "Of course not," she said sincerely "I could never think that about you... I miss Benezia but...I know that you did not have a choice. I do not blame you, Shepard."

The Commander smiled then, seemingly relieved. "Good," she said. "I know how hard this must be for you. You know, I'm here if you need to talk..."

Shepard straightened up then and squeezed Liara's hand before walking to the door. Liara watched her go, realising then that no matter how much of a front the Commander put up, no matter how much of a renegade she could be, underneath all that she was still vulnerable like anybody else. It made her seem more..._human _somehow. The Asari realised then in that moment that she was starting to have feelings for her, which went beyond simple admiration and respect. Ever since they had met, the Commander had intrigued her, but this was the first time she had seen her softer side. And it attracted her even more to see a person underneath all that armor.

"Shepard?" she called after her. The Commander turned back. Her piercing green eyes made Liara's breath catch momentarily. The Asari swallowed hard, trying to regain her composure.

"Thank you," she managed, feeling shy under the Commander's gaze. Shepard smiled back at her.

"Anytime," she replied kindly.

Liara watched her turn and exit the med bay, the door whooshing closed behind her...

* * *

Liara jumped up out of her doze. She had cried herself to sleep, thinking of her lost love. The Asari reached out towards her nearby pillow, drawing it close and burying her face in it. It still smelled faintly of the Commander. Shepard's scent clung to the fabric, reminding the Asari that she once existed. It was about the only comfort she had left now. Clutching it to her chest, Liara lay on her side, staring at the opposite wall, lost in memories.

Suddenly the intercom came to life.

"How are you feeling, Dr T'Soni?" came EDI's soothing voice.

Liara sniffed once in response, fresh tears falling down her face. She couldn't find the words to reply. Truth be told she felt numb. This was all too hard to take in at once. The only person she wanted to talk to was no longer here. No one else would understand.

"I regret having lost my human form," EDI continued, "It would have made it much easier to comfort you."

"Do not worry about me, EDI," Liara answered weakly. "I'll be...fine."

"We are all missing the Commander," EDI replied, "But I understand she meant much more to you, just as Jeff means to me. I am sorry that I could not be of more help."

"I would prefer just to be alone," Liara said, "But thank you, EDI."

"You are welcome," EDI finished. "I will respect your privacy."

With that, the room was plunged into silence once more. Liara hugged the pillow tightly, closing her eyes once more, willing her dream to pick up where it left off. If the only way she could see Shepard again was in her memories, then she never wanted to wake up again.


	2. Chapter 2

Liara woke up to the smell of food wafting under her nostrils. She opened her eyes and straightened up a little. James was sitting on the corner of her bed, holding out what looked to be a plate of scrambled eggs and toast. A smile appeared on Liara's face before she could stop it.

"Hell, if I'd have known all it took to make you smile again would be scrambled eggs and toast I'd have made you it sooner!" James joked. Liara let out a small laugh, touching her face with her hand, feeling her cheek muscles contract. She didn't think it would be possible to smile again so soon, especially not for something as simple as eggs.

"It is just that...Shepard made me scrambled eggs for breakfast one morning back on the Citadel...and I had no idea what it was," she said, smiling again in embarrassment as the memory came back. James chuckled.

"Seriously?" he asked in disbelief, "Don't Asari's eat eggs?"

Liara shook her head. "We grow all of our food. Everything is natural. I almost died when Shepard told me the eggs came from those little furry birds you have back on earth."

James barked a laugh again and sat the plate down on the Asari's bed. "Did you eat them?"

Liara chuckled again and stared down at the steaming plate. "I am embarrassed to admit...Shepard told me a tale that ancient humans ate raw bird eggs to make them fly."

James laughed even harder then, flopping down onto the bed beside Liara and putting his arms behind his head, "And you believed her?" he asked. When the Asari nodded ashamedly he laughed even more. "Typical Shepard," he said, shaking his head, "I miss her little stories. She was so full of mierda."

Both of them continued laughing. Liara reached out and lifted the fork, tucking in to the freshly made food. She hadn't eaten in days. It felt nice to have some company too. James might not have been there at the start of it all, but he was there at the end. He and Liara were the last one's to see Shepard alive, and the Asari found that she enjoyed his company more than the others right now. They were all grieving in their own way, but James' way just appealed to Liara more. He was a positive influence and never let her mope around all day, incapacitated by her memories of the Commander.

"How are they?" James asked, eyeing Liara as she ate her breakfast.

"Great," Liara replied, "Much better than Shepard's were. She blamed it on the birds."

"I'll give it to her, the Commander was a hell of a shooter, but the woman could _never_ cook as well as me. It's the Hispanic routes in my heritage, Li Li. You just can't teach that!"

Liara laughed. "I have no idea what Hispanic means, James, but I will take your word for it. Your story telling could use some work though."

James began to chuckle, "Ha ha, Shepard wasn't as good a storyteller as she thought, Dr. Remember the time she tried to talk that Batarian out of shooting that kid he had at gunpoint on the Citadel? She created this whole elaborate story about C-Sec, the Alliance and Sha'ira the Consort before getting pissed off and just blasting the fool in the head."

Liara and James laughed as they remembered. The Commander had a bit of a cut throat reputation. When she wasn't making up stories to distract people or make them laugh, she was letting her fists do the talking instead.

"She was such a badass," James said with respect, still chuckling.

"She was," Liara agreed, lying beside the Lieutenant as they both stared up at the ceiling, recalling all the times the Commander had saved their lives. But that wasn't the Shepard the Asari missed. There was another side to the legendary woman, a side only Liara saw, even before they had fallen in love. Ever since Liara had known her, Shepard had been hurting. Whether it was the military tearing her apart, the Council, Cerberus, the Collectors...the Reapers, Shepard always had something on her mind, weighing her down. Even though it had become more visible to the others towards the end, Liara had already seen the Commander work through years of strain as she tried to save an ungrateful Galaxy from extinction. It was a side that the woman hid well under all that bravado of a leader and heroine. But Liara remembered the first time she was subjected to it, as though it was only yesterday...

* * *

"My name is Shepard. What's yours?"

Liara watched in fear with Garrus as the Commander tried to calm a distressed young girl. Apparently she had been abducted by the Baterian slavers which attacked Shepard's home colony of Mindoir thirteen years ago. The poor child had been in slavery since then and had only recently escaped her captors. The Normandy Crew had just arrived at the Citadel when Shepard got an urgent message by a worried C-Sec officer who was trying to sedate the tortured victim before she put a bullet in her own head. Liara rarely saw Shepard look so anxious. They had important business on the Citadel to attend to, but she had dropped everything to return to the docking area and help the C-Sec officer try to calm the girl down. At the mention of Mindoir, the Commander had turned on her heel and took the elevator up to the docking bay, Liara and Garrus in tow.

"She doesn't have a name!" the girl replied angrily, as though such a thing was unheard of. "The Masters didn't give the animals names!"

Liara's every nerve was on end as she watched Shepard stare down the barrel of the unstable girl's gun. She wanted to protect her somehow, fearing for her life. But the Commander looked as calm as ever, unfazed by the potential danger she was in. Liara greatly admired and envied Shepard's fearlessness. She gave the girl a kind smile, holding out her hands in a gesture of surrender.

"What did your parents call you?" Shepard asked kindly, in a soothing voice. The girls aim faltered a little at her delicate tone.

"T-they called her...Talitha..." she said, seeming to break from her trance momentarily.

"I know what you're going through, Talitha," Shepard continued. Suddenly the girl raised her gun again, pointing it directly at the Commander's face. Liara's heart jumped into her mouth. She exchanged a nervous glance with Garrus. The turian looked just as concerned as she did, but they were powerless in this situation.

"I lived on Mindoir," Shepard informed the girl, "I was there when the slavers attacked...My parent's were killed...my friends...everyone..."

"Y-you were there?" the girl asked. Her finger tightened around the trigger then, her face screwed up in anger. "Why weren't you captured!? Why didn't the Masters take you? She lost everything that day."

"As did I," Shepard empathized sadly, "But I can help you. Tell me what happened, Talitha."

Talitha sighed and eventually lowered the gun completely, as her tortured memories overcame her. She began to recall the torments she went through under her captors. Liara listened in horror as the young girl spilled her guts to the Commander. She could see Shepard's sorrow as she listened, reliving the girl's pain as her own. Liara had only ever heard her mention Mindoir once before, just after she had killed Benezia. The Asari could tell even then that it was still difficult for her to think about.

"I'm going to take a step towards you now," Shepard said gently, when the girl had finished. She reached out a hand to her. Slowly, so as not to scare her, she moved forwards. Liara watched the unstable girl's gun closely, ready to throw a biotic barrier between her and Shepard if anything went wrong. To the Turian and the Asari's surprise however, the young girl submitted and the Commander drew her into a gentle embrace, disarming the dangerous situation at once. The girl's gun dropped to the ground at their feet and Talitha melted into the strong arms that held her.

"It's ok," Shepard soothed, stroking her head. "You're safe now."She pulled back and held out the small sedative to the girl. "Take this. It'll make the pain go away, I promise...and when you wake up you'll be in a warm place and kind people there will help you get better."

Talitha took the sedative and swallowed it. After several seconds she passed out in Shepard's arms. The Commander lowered her to the ground gently as the C-Sec officers rushed in to bring the girl to a rehab facility. Liara was stunned. As was Garrus. They had never seen Shepard so involved before. It was clear that this whole thing had been a little too close to the woman's heart. Liara watched the officers put Talitha on a soft bed and wheel her onto a nearby ship. She turned back to Shepard then. The Commander was leaning on a nearby crate, looking dejected. Her face was white as she stared at the ground, unblinking.

"Are...you alright, Commander?" the Asari asked gently, taking a few steps towards her. Garrus touched Liara's arm, stopping her from approaching. She looked back at him in confusion. He simply shook his head. They both looked back at the Commander then. Shepard sighed in response and straightened up, trying to compose herself. She ran her hand through her short red hair and shook her head absentmindedly.

"No..." she said hoarsely, answering Liara. She turned away from them both and began to lead them back towards the Citadel entrance again. Liara and Garrus followed, staring after their Commander with concern. It was unlike Shepard to seem so vulnerable. The woman very rarely showed her true feelings. It worried them both how unhinged Talitha's plight had made her.

A few hours later, back on the Normandy, Liara walked to the Commander's quarters. After their business on the Citadel was through, Shepard had given Joker coordinates for their next destination and entered her room on the crew deck without speaking to anyone else. It made Liara worry. She felt it best to check on her, despite the rest of the crews warnings to leave her be. Garrus was adamant that Shepard should be left on her own. It was clear she didn't want to see anyone. He, like the others had read the reports of Mindoir all those years ago. Kaiden promised Liara he would check on the Commander later after she had voiced her concerns to the others during dinner, but the Asari was too worried to sit by and do nothing. Shepard had comforted her when her mother was killed. She felt obliged to do the same.

The Asari took a deep breath before knocking lightly on the Commander's door. There was no answer. Feeling a little bolder than usual, Liara pressed the button by the wall and the door whooshed open. She poked her head in.

"Commander?" she called gently. No reply. Her eyes found Shepard, sitting at her desk then. The woman was hunched over, leaning on the table with her arms, holding her head in her hands. Liara hesitated for a few seconds then took a few steps inside. "Commander, are you alright?" she pressed.

Shepard seemed to hear her this time. She straightened up and looked towards the door, seeing the Asari hovering beside it, unsure of whether on not to proceed. Liara noticed her face was whiter than usual, and there were red rings under her eyes. She looked completely exhausted.

"Liara...?" Shepard said softly, "I'm...fine. Come on in."

The Asari felt a little nervous. She had never been inside the Commander's private quarters before. Shepard had always been the one to seek her out. She had never mustered the courage to call upon the slightly intimidating, extremely attractive woman everyone looked up to and respected, no matter how nice Shepard had been to her since she came aboard the Normandy. Liara entered slowly, hearing the door whoosh closed behind her, blocking out the noise from the rest of the ship. The only sound now was the very faint hum of the ship's engines.

"I...I just wanted to talk, Commander," she stammered, staring at her worriedly.

Shepard exhaled and her face fell. She reached out and lifted a glass of brown liquid off the desk and took a generous sip. As Liara neared, her eyes spotted a bottle of what looked like human-made whiskey beside the numerous datapads on the table. It was half gone. Her concerns about the Commander were right. Something was weighing on her mind.

"What can I do for you, Dr T'Soni?" Shepard asked quietly, while staring into the depths of her glass. Liara leaned against the desk and stared down at the Commander sadly. She wasn't sure how to do this exactly. She didn't have much experience with people, even less so with humans. She wanted to comfort her in some way, but wasn't sure how.

"I...I wanted to see if you were alright, Commander," she said kindly, feeling completely inadequate in this situation. "After...well...You just seemed a little distracted earlier."Shepard looked up at her then. Liara could see the torment in her green eyes. Goddess, she just wanted to make her feel better, but she didn't know how. The woman looked terrible.

"That girl..." Shepard whispered helplessly, shaking her head, "She was so broken...I...I thought I'd put what happened on Mindoir behind me...I...I wasn't expecting it to creep up on me like that after all these years."

Liara stared down at her sympathetically. Goddess, she had never seen Shepard fall apart like this. She wanted nothing more than to reach out and hold her. But she was too much of a coward to do it. What if the Commander realised she was attracted to her?

"You went through a terrible ordeal," Liara said instead, "It could not have been easy to relive those memories again."

The Commander's green eyes filled with tears then. Liara panicked. She didn't want to make her cry. "I still see them burn, Liara," Shepard said bitterly, looking deranged, "I can still smell the fires from that day...the melting flesh as it was stripped from their bones..."

The Asari felt a shiver of fear run through her. Her heart broke. The Commander was holding the glass of whiskey tightly in her hands like a lifeline. Liara bent down beside her and gently pried the glass away from her, setting it on the table. Surely, she'd had enough.

"Ssshh," Liara soothed, taking Shepard's hands in her own. She squeezed them tightly, staring up into the Commander's face. Shepard's eyes found hers then. Liara could see her fight back the tears, unwilling to cry in front of one of her crew. She had worked so long on hiding her feelings away that it was too hard for her to open up to anyone anymore. She'd closed herself off a long time ago, since the events of Akuze. But after today, those feelings had found a way to escape.

"Why am I always the one to survive?" Shepard asked, her eyes darting back and forth from Liara's blue ones, "It happened on Mindoir...then again on Akuze...Why am I always the one who escapes?"

"Because you are a fighter, Shepard," Liara said reassuringly, squeezing her hands comfortingly. "You are a survivor. What you did on Akuze was incredible."

Shepard shook her head, her eyes dropping to the floor. "My entire unit was wiped out, Liara...Every time someone mentions it to me, they talk as though I should wear it as a badge of honour...But each time it's brought up, the faces of the men and women I fought alongside appear in my mind and I remember everything that I lost back then...There's nothing incredible about watching your friends being killed in front of your eyes and being alive to tell the tale. And here I am responsible for more lives..."

Liara could feel her own eyes fill with tears. She got to her feet and pulled the Shepard to hers.

"Come Commander, let's get you to bed," she said, draping Shepard's heavy arm over her shoulder and wrapping her own arm around the Commander's waist to steady her. She led the inebriated woman over to her bed and lay her down gently on her side, sitting herself on the corner beside her.

Shepard's eyes closed as soon as her head hit the pillow. Liara reached out slowly and ran her finger along the Commander's cheek, scooping up the warm tear which had escaped. She then ran her hand through Shepard's red hair softly, brushing it behind her ear. Although they had only known each other a short while, Liara couldn't help but be intrigued by her. This was the only time she had ever seen Shepard let her guard down, though she wasn't sure how much of that had to do with the alcohol. Goddess, she had only joined her crew a few months ago but she couldn't help but feel attracted to the Commander. Not that she would ever act on it of course. She wouldn't know where to begin. Liara had never felt this way about anyone before. She was only a hundred and six, little more than a child in Asari eyes. She never thought she would feel ready to enter matronhood so soon. However, after meeting the Commander, she couldn't help but wonder what it would be like with her. But there was no way someone like the famous Commander Shepard would be interested in her. Liara didn't consider herself to be very interesting, and she always managed to make a fool out of herself in the company of others, a feat she seemed to repeat constantly in front of the Commander.

Sighing, Liara retracted her hand from Shepard's velvet red hair and got to her feet, seeing that she was now consoled. As she went to get up however, a hand reached out and grabbed hers. She looked down. Shepard was staring up at her, her eyes still half closed.

"Don't go," she pled hoarsely, her voice heavy with sleep, "Not yet...I don't want..."

Shocked, Liara realised she didn't want to be alone, even though the tough, badass Commander would never say it. She smiled down at her kindly and re-seated herself on the edge of the bed, holding Shepard's hand in hers once more.

"I can stay if you wish," she whispered, wanting nothing more. Shepard exhaled with relief and her hand relaxed in the Asari's blue one. Liara watched over her for over an hour as she finally succumbed to her exhaustion. Her eyes flickered beneath their lids as the Commander no doubt relieved her horrible memories from back on Mindoir and Akuze. Only once Liara knew she was truly peaceful did she release the Commander's hand and get to her feet. She fought the urge to plant a light kiss on Shepard's head before leaving, afraid that the Commander would wake up and she would have to explain herself. Liara sighed, steeling one last look at the Commander as she slept before extinguishing the light in Shepard's quarters and taking her leave.


End file.
